my grandparents were still living up there until ‘83 or so; when i was younger they had a really good memory with it but now as they age 70+ they can’t quite tell as great of a story.
anyways, one very real part during the blizzard was they were one of the closest residents to a local Tribe reserve and they actually exchanged goods and sheltered some of the younger members of the tribe. my grandpa gave each of his grandchildren an arrowhead on their 13th birthday that he acquired during the “blizzard trades” as he refers to it as. there was another very big snow storm around 1980 where the snow reached almost the top of their chimney (not a huge house) and actually had a ladder in the house prepared for that type of weather as a last resort escape route!
It should be noted that this storm was characterized by ridiculously strong winds that created enormous snow drifts like this one. There wasn't an even blanket of 20 ft of snow everywhere
Grew up in the Dakotas and can confirm that the drifting is wicked. I remember one winter (96, I think) where some of our neighbors had snow drift up over the roofs of their houses. Only 1 story ranch style, but still. They had to climb out of a skylight window when the storm finally passed.
There were also old photos in the basement of the library showing Main St in the late 1800s or early 1900s where the townsfolk had to dig a tunnel through the snow to let the covered wagons through. Those things weren't short by any means. Hated the winters there with a passion.
Kolzilla2 on February 22nd, 2021 at 01:10 UTC »
my grandparents were still living up there until ‘83 or so; when i was younger they had a really good memory with it but now as they age 70+ they can’t quite tell as great of a story.
anyways, one very real part during the blizzard was they were one of the closest residents to a local Tribe reserve and they actually exchanged goods and sheltered some of the younger members of the tribe. my grandpa gave each of his grandchildren an arrowhead on their 13th birthday that he acquired during the “blizzard trades” as he refers to it as. there was another very big snow storm around 1980 where the snow reached almost the top of their chimney (not a huge house) and actually had a ladder in the house prepared for that type of weather as a last resort escape route!
JeromesNiece on February 22nd, 2021 at 01:50 UTC »
It should be noted that this storm was characterized by ridiculously strong winds that created enormous snow drifts like this one. There wasn't an even blanket of 20 ft of snow everywhere
EldritchTheOutdated on February 22nd, 2021 at 02:15 UTC »
Grew up in the Dakotas and can confirm that the drifting is wicked. I remember one winter (96, I think) where some of our neighbors had snow drift up over the roofs of their houses. Only 1 story ranch style, but still. They had to climb out of a skylight window when the storm finally passed.
There were also old photos in the basement of the library showing Main St in the late 1800s or early 1900s where the townsfolk had to dig a tunnel through the snow to let the covered wagons through. Those things weren't short by any means. Hated the winters there with a passion.